Manoj Galle (@manoj.galle) is a travel and landscape photographer who came to landscape photography through his second great passion, music. Manoj started with photography as a concert photographer and since there were no concerts during the pandemic, his focus shifted from concert photography to landscape photography. He has a special bond with the Palatinate Forest region, which continues to fascinate him with its red sandstone formations and beautiful forests. Since day one he has been using Sony cameras, and recently upgraded to the Sony Alpha 7R V. We came across this beautiful image on Instagram and immediately wanted to know more, so we asked Galle to share the story behind the shot. Continue reading as he shares how he created it in his own words!

Product Preview – In This Article You'll Find:
–Sony Alpha 7R V
–Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master

Photo by Manoj Galle. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master.

Revisiting A Scene For The Right Conditions

The Palatinate Forest is one of the most beautiful regions in Germany and offers many photographic opportunities. A special feature of the region is that in spring and autumn very often the fog gathers in the valleys and from the numerous sandstone rocks there you have a super view over the sea of fog. I had already been to this spot two times and I had a very clear picture in my head of the photograph I wanted to make. The first time the fog was too high, the second time the sky was nicely colored but there was no fog.

Photo by Manoj Galle. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/1600-sec., f/5.6, ISO 100

Photo by Manoj Galle. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master. 1/125-sec., f/8, ISO 100

On the third try I finally got lucky. This time the conditions were exactly as desired, the fog had the perfect height and the sky was beautifully colored. I have often found in landscape photography that you need to just keep coming back. At some point, the conditions will line up perfectly, like they did for me. But that takes patience and persistence. It’s one of the things I love about creating a shot that wasn’t easy; I am extra proud of the work I had to put in. 

The Perfect Sony Alpha & Sony Prime Combo For Low Light

The photo was taken with the Sony Alpha 7R V and the Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master lens. Normally I prefer zoom lenses for my work, but over time I found that I was almost always at the lower end of the focal length range in the wide-angle range. So I learned that I get along well with a fixed focal length.

The Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master is ideal for this, as it is much more compact than a zoom lens and the high open aperture makes it perfect for low light conditions. And I will go more in depth in a moment, but this image was really only possible with the Sony Alpha 7R V. 

Overcoming Challenges To Get The Shot

To get to the spot is not very easy, because you have to climb up the rock a little bit. Not so easy in the dark and with a heavy camera backpack. But luckily I made it safely. The next challenge was to find a suitable place for the tripod to get my desired framing. For this I had to balance and align the tripod on several branches. 

To get a completely sharp image afterwards that also shows the details of the tree in the foreground, I used the internal focus stacking function of the Sony Alpha 7R V. Otherwise, the image would have been very difficult to realize, because if I had moved the focus points by hand, the branches on which the tripod with the camera was standing would have shaken. The display of the Sony Alpha 7R V, which can be tilted in all directions, was also particularly practical here, since I was standing a little bit under the tripod.

Editing To Make A Hyperreal Landscape

For the processing I have chosen a more processed look, which I usually use for almost all my pictures. Especially here in connection with the unusual wide-angle perspective, the whole thing creates an almost hyperreal impression, which I wanted to achieve. The image is a focus stacking of over 10 images that I put together with the help of Photoshop. Because the Sony Alpha 7R V has extremely good dynamic range, I didn't have to shoot an HDR. I was able to darken the sky a bit and brighten the foreground a bit without the sky burning out or the shadows going completely black.

Photo by Manoj Galle. Sony Alpha 7R V. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master.

Check out more of Galle’s work by following him on Instagram (@manoj.galle).